Syria Ceasefire Must Be Enforced

Security Council members must be prepared to take action to enforce the upcoming cessation of hostilities, or risk further undermining the reputation of the Council. This was the message from Syrian human rights activists, following today’s adoption by the UN Security Council of a new resolution demanding a temporary truce across Syria and an end to the siege in Eastern Ghouta.

“Today’s resolution offers a glimmer of hope to civilians trapped inside besieged Eastern Ghouta, but only if it is enforced”, Fadel Abdul Ghany, Chairman of the Syrian Network for Human Rights said. “As we saw in Aleppo and Homs before it, left to its own devices, the Assad regime will continue its bloodbath until it has starved, bombed, displaced and killed every last Syrian who dares to dream of freedom and dignity.”

“Today’s resolution alone is not enough to protect Syria’s civilians”, Ibrahim al-Assil, President of the Syrian Nonviolence Movement warned. “If Security Council members want to save lives in Eastern Ghouta, they must enforce today’s resolution. This means articulating clear, meaningful consequences for any party that violates the 30-day truce, and introducing a credible timetable to turn the temporary truce into long-term de-escalation, so that parties are in a position to negotiate a lasting political solution.”

The Syrian Network for Human Rights, founded in June 2011, is a non-governmental, non-profit independent organization that is a primary source for the United Nations on all death toll-related statistics in Syria